JUDE - Apostates Described (vs4)

Verse 4 “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” This verse gives us the reason why Jude has been required to write this letter. Here we have the problem led out for us - apostasy - people have came into the church, amongst God’s people, and are trying to turn the people away from God by teaching false doctrines. This was the early days of the Church, when it was growing and on fire for God, and still this was happening, how much more is it happening today, in these last days of the Church. Warnings of this were given by the earliest prophet in history - Enoch. We will see this later in the letter. There are 3 ways to identify these people : i They are ungodly ii They pervert the grace of God into lasciviousness iii They deny the Lord Ungodly - This is not just those that are obviously against God, but it deals with the inside - where are our hearts in relation to God? We can believe in God, but still be ungodly, do we have a reverential awe of God? If not then we are ungodly. Some references are 2 Timothy 3;5, Romans 1;16, Philippians 3;10. We can be ungodly if we do not embrace the essential truths of God. Lasciviousness - Titus 2;11,12 tells us what the grace of God is and how to live it. Lasciviousness is the opposite of this, it is when we lose our restraint and do things that are displeasing to God, things that take the place of God in our hearts. Deny the Lord - If we deny Him He will deny us - Matthew 10;33, 2 Timothy 2;12, 1 John 2;22,23